Richardson promoted strong free market economic theories, which were popular with some sections of the party, but resented by more conservative elements.
Soon afterwards, the Liberals chose to join the Alliance, a broad left-wing coalition which they saw as the most significant opponent of Richardson and her allies.
Some members of the Liberals, quite possibly including Grover, were unhappy at this decision, however – while they opposed Richardson's reforms, they did not see themselves as left-wing.
In 1998 Grover had indicated that he would stand for the Christian Democrat Party, but when they became Future New Zealand he decided to join the CHP instead.
For the election, Grover was ranked sixth on Christian Heritage's list, but the party failed to win any seats.